


Captain Phasma and the Inverse Reveal - The Sentimental Version

by EmpireMurderer



Series: The Inverse Reveal [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Badass Phasma, F/F, In Character Rey, Rey Likes em Tall and Blonde, This is Like the Fifth Time I've Written Rey and Phasma Getting to Know One Another at a Bar, This is Like the Hundredth Time I've Referenced Phasma's Cape, This is Like the Second Time I've Written a Phasma Reverse Reveal, This is Like the Seventh Time I've Written Phasma Using Her Silverstaff, there's kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:53:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24923389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmpireMurderer/pseuds/EmpireMurderer
Summary: Rey is searching for an informant while attending a high society event. She never expected her mission to be burdened by kisses and complications.
Relationships: Phasma/Rey
Series: The Inverse Reveal [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1795678
Comments: 20
Kudos: 37





	Captain Phasma and the Inverse Reveal - The Sentimental Version

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in response to a prompt in which I will poorly summarize: Instead of revealing what the Captain looks like, this time reveal she's actually the Captain. Prompt by [SinisterScribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinisterScribe/pseuds/SinisterScribe)
> 
> This is my second attempt.
> 
> The story starts out a lot like the other version, but quickly departs from the other plot because it turns out that In Character Rey does things differently than Out of Character Rey.

“Any sign of the mole?” Finn’s tinny voice asked through the hidden earpiece.

“Not yet,” Rey replied as surreptitiously as she could into her sleeve. “Though I’ve only just got here.”

She was in a lavish palace on Coruscant where every square inch of the floor was occupied by pretentious people in opulent clothes, loudly slandering to a group of equals about someone just above them on the pecking order. It was exactly the place to hold a fundraiser.

“Have you found the mole yet?”

“You asked me that literally one minute ago,” Rey answered.

“Don’t you have some way of using the Force to spot the person?”

“Exactly what do you have in mind?”

By his silence, he clearly didn’t have anything in mind.

“You look nice tonight,” he said, trying to deflect.

“Good try. Just keep listening to the First Order channels for any alerts.”

The cost of Rey’s dress was as much as a used X-Wing, but she needed to fit into an environment where anyone could easily spot and scoff at off-brand attire. At the moment, the disguised Jedi was donned in a silver dress that glimmered with rhinestone. Her hair was styled into a fashionable updo and her make up practically transformed her into another person. Rey felt like a starlet from the popular holo-programs on the drama networks.

Since it was expensive to send a spy into the mix, Rey was the only one currently assigned to recruiting an unknown disgruntled First Order bureaucrat at the event. Her ability to scope out troubled ambassadors went unrivaled considering she was the strongest Force wielder in the Resistance, so she was naturally the most suited for the mission.

The event was extravagant and grand, hosting hundreds of people that were a very odd weaving of old and ugly, or young and fit. The young ones all happened to be ludicrously beautiful. Rey had an inkling many of them might have been escorts hired for the event in an attempt to wheedle the wealthy out of more donations.

The room shimmered with light and reflective surfaces, catching the corner of Rey’s eye. She turned, in the back of her mind hoping that it might have been Captain Phasma.

It wasn’t the Captain, of course, as she was most likely waging battles on far off planets. There would be no reason for the First Order to station their most decorated soldier as a bouncer at this gala.

Initially, the reason Rey was interested in the chrome captain was due to the skill she displayed on the propaganda feeds distributed across the galaxy by the First Order. Phasma was amazing with a silverstaff, a blaster and even her fists. Rey knew quite a lot about wielding weapons so she had the benefit of being able to note and admire all of Captain Phasma’s fine techniques better than any other Resistance member. Tall and intimidating, the Captain walked like a champion. The mystery of such a woman continually piqued Rey’s interest until she was solidly gripped in fascination.

Annoyed by her own inability to shake her obsession, Rey tried to quash the idea of coming face-to-face with the Captain. The likelihood of coming across Captain Phasma was close to nil, but even if it happened it wouldn’t be worth the trouble.

She had a mission to complete. Rey focused on a group and searched their moods.

* * *

Rey walked around the ballroom catching glimpses into minds, especially the ones that looked like they might be anxious about rendezvousing with a disguised Resistance member. She sought out the older ones because they were more likely to be in a position to hold confidential information, but also because the young ones didn’t seem distressed at all, solidifying in her mind that they were most definitely paid dates.

One mind she passed by was wrought with resentment. Rey circled back, honing in on the man who was unknowingly telegraphing such strong emotion.

“Excuse me,” Rey said, patting his arm for his attention. “Have you seen a ruby broach around here? I seem to have misplaced it.”

The man glanced at her and snidely replied, “Perhaps you should keep better track of your things.”

Rey continued on. Close by was a woman in flamboyant attire whose mind revealed her to be highly discontented with life. That seemed promising.

“Excuse me,” Rey said, sidling up to her, “but have you seen a ruby broach around here? I seem to have misplaced it.”

The woman gave Rey a once over and then turned away with a spin of her heel. “Rubies are so very last season.”

Rey, though confused by the rudeness, carried on.

* * *

After an hour, the negativity was starting to wear Rey out. She had approached over a dozen people and every one of them had been unhappy elitists who had shunned her away.

“Did you find the mole?” Finn suddenly piped in.

“No,” Rey whispered into the transmitter. “I’m starting to think this might be impossible.” She glanced around the room of hundreds of people, suddenly feeling like the entire place was much bigger and louder than before. “Any alerts on the First Order channel?”

“Nothing yet.”

“Keep me posted. I’ll continue looking.”

Rey went from one corner of the ballroom all the way down to the other, sensing thoughts of discomfort, boredom, or unease, but nothing treasonous. She was beginning to wonder if the mole was even at the gala.

And then someone caught Rey’s eye.

A woman, tall, blonde, and beautiful walked into her view. Brief openings through the groups of guests revealed the woman sporting a deep blue sleeveless dress with a side split all the way up to her hip, baring her left leg with each stride. There was something in the way she walked that had immediately caught Rey’s attention. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the woman until she disappeared through another hallway where a sign was designated with the words: Event Personnel only.

Free from the spell that woman had managed to cast onto Rey, the Jedi snapped back to focus and continued with her quest. The next man she went up to was dressed rather drab compared to the other guests. He seemed to be visibly drowning in fear.

“Excuse me,” Rey said, “but have you seen a ruby broach around here? I seem to have misplaced it.”

“Are you a spy?” he immediately asked, glaring at her in alarm. “You work for them, don’t you?”

Rey frowned. “Work for who?”

“The First Order Investigative Commission. You’re spying on me!”

Rey sped walked away before his behavior alerted security. While fleeing with the man’s voice trailing behind her, she bumped into one of the caterers carrying a tray of full champagne flutes. The tray began to tip out of the server’s hand and Rey surreptitiously touched the Force to the edge and righted it before it all came tumbling to the floor.

“Excuse me,” Rey quickly said then hurried away while the server looked at the tray in her hand in perplexity.

“Did you see that?” Rey could hear the server say. “I didn’t drop a single one.”

* * *

Rey walked all through the crowded ballroom, this time reaching a little deeper into the minds of some of the guests, however with this much use of her power, those she had searched inside would suddenly stop what they were doing and glance to the ceiling, focusing on the odd sensation they had on their brains. Not wanting to put anyone on alert, Rey casually slipped away from her targets before they could determine someone really was peeking into their minds. She had not found what she was looking for. Her level of frustration was edging towards hopelessness.

Because she wasn’t having much luck with the guests, Rey crossed back through the ballroom, this time touching her senses to the servers. There was a stark contrast between them and the guests. She found they were all highly focused on their tasks and strangely void of emotion. They were more like robots than people. She decided it wasn’t worth asking any of them the key phrase.

By the time Rey had scoured the entire gala, there were few people whose moods she had not sensed. The bartenders were the only ones left. She headed in their direction thinking she could use a drink anyhow.

* * *

The long bar that extended from one side of the hall to the other was stationed with a bartender every six feet. Most of the seats were occupied except for the ones on the very end of the hall where the least amount of guests were gathered. Rey touched the Force into the mind of each bartender as she walked past until she arrived at the very end where the last bartender was no more likely to be the mole than the first.

Dark blue brought her attention to the woman sitting at the very end of the bar and Rey had to calm her enthusiasm at spotting the blonde who had captured her eye earlier. The seat next to her was empty.

The draw was too great. Rey found herself gravitating to the barstool and sitting down. Too busy tapping on her datapad, the blonde took no notice, which was somehow both a relief and a disappointment to Rey. The Jedi felt along the woman’s mind. There was strength there and confidence and enough intelligence to warm the Force Rey used to sense her. Regardless of how impressive this person’s overall sophistication seemed to be, Rey found no indication she was the informant.

“What can I get for you?” the bartender asked Rey.

“Corinth wine, please.”

The bartender placed a wine glass in front of her on the bar and filled it with a light blue liquid, then left to fill other orders.

Rey sat sipping her wine and stewing over her mission. She went over her options again, but they were few. Her best guess was that the mole was quite simply not at the gala.

A flash of movement pulled her attention to the holo-vid playing in the corner of the bar where one of the bartenders had switched it on for the guests to watch. Like any good First Order citizen would do, it was on the propaganda channel where the holo-program was showing the footage of Captain Phasma’s latest battle. Rey perked up in interest.

It must have been somewhere in the outer rim on a cold and snowy planet. The Captain wielded a heavy assault blaster, keeping her legs firm as the kickback from the shots tried to push her off her feet. Her cape flew in the wind while she took shot after shot, blasting the enemy while they approached.

There were too many. The Captain knocked her blaster into the first attacker to reach her before pulling out her silverstaff and extending it to full length. She twirled it over head with a silver gleam, then readied for attack.

Rey found herself sitting on the edge of her seat, back straight, unable to take her eyes off the image of the Captain. These were the moments that made her heart start racing. This was always the point when Rey was captivated.

She didn’t notice when the blonde beside her glanced from Rey, to the holo-vid, then back at Rey again with a raised brow.

The Captain spun her staff across two attackers, slicing their throats in unison. She then stepped back to dodge a sword strike, impaling the enemy once and then ducking a second attacker. Yanking her staff from out of the first attacker, she downward sliced the second through his entire body.

A fourth, fifth and sixth attacker came at her at once and the Captain caught their weapons in the air with her staff. Her brute strength halted all three of their simultaneous strikes. She pushed them away, and they stumbled to the floor. Pulling out her pistol, she shot all three in the head in succession while they were scrambling to get up from off the ground. The Captain suddenly looked straight ahead and made a half movement with her right foot.

Rey visibly tightened, uttering a slight gasp even before a seventh attacker came on to the screen and managed to hit the Captain on her shoulder with a large mace. Her armor kept the spikes from impaling her. She countered with a quick punch and then another shot of her pistol when the attacker was dizzied by the jab.

An eighth, ninth and tenth attacker came at her from all sides and she quickly stabbed her silverstaff into the gut of the eighth in front of her, pulled him along with her staff to hit the ninth and then yanked the staff out of the eighth, concurrently impaling the the tenth attacking behind her, and at the the same time shooting the stunned ninth in the face with her pistol. They all fell dead to the ground in a single moment, like petals peeling away from the rose.

“Yes!” Rey said in hushed exuberance. Her fist raised involuntarily over the bar, clenching hard in a show of support.

On screen, the Captain paused to look around, and when no one else came at her she stood tall and adjusted her cape before heading on. The holo-program cut out and Rey relaxed, not realizing how tense she had been while watching the Captain.

“Are you a fan?”

Rey looked to her right to find the blonde smiling at her. A slight blush tinged Rey’s cheeks both at having been caught and at receiving her attention.

“I’m…an admirer.”

The blonde’s brows rose up. “I’m sure the Captain would be glad to know she has an admirer.”

“Would she? I doubt she would much care.”

“Oh? What makes you say that?”

Rey shrugged. “Well, because she’s the Captain.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“How do I put this?” Rey pursed her lips and looked to the ceiling for an analogy. “The Captain is like…like a sunset. Beautiful and spectacular; a sunset’s radiance is a byproduct of it’s existence. You don’t expect a sunset to care that it is admired for simply doing what it does.”

The blonde gave Rey a long look. If it hadn’t been for the smile at the corner of the woman’s lips, Rey would have thought she’d offended her.

“A sunset,” the woman finally said, though in amusement to herself. “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard anyone compare the Captain to such a thing.”

“Perhaps it’s because they don’t recognize her talent.”

“And you do?”

Rey looked away, trying to hide another tinge of blush. “I might.”

“Yes, I noticed you braced right before the Captain was struck.” The blonde set her elbow on the bar and leaned her chin into her hand as she focused on Rey. “How did you predict that?” The smile was still there. This woman was genuinely interested in what Rey had to say.

“Well, this is embarrassing to admit, but I study the Captain’s battle footage quite extensively. She’s always moving so that her reflexes stay sharp. If she ever hesitates, it manifests as a slight jarring half-step with her right foot. At that moment, I could tell something was coming at her quick enough for her to flinch. Luckily, she turned just in time so that the mace didn’t hit her across the helmet.”

The blonde stared wide-eyed at Rey. “That’s amazing,” she stated. “Are you a soldier yourself?”

“No, I’m not a soldier, but I can wield a staff,” Rey shyly admitted. “I’ve been practicing with my li-…with a sword. I’m not as good as Captain Phasma though. She’s immensely impressive.”

“You know what I think?”

Rey arched a brow in puzzlement. “What do you think?”

“I think that If Captain Phasma is a sunset, perhaps you’re the sunrise.”

Now a strong blush crossed Rey’s features. She had to glance down to the bar, desperately trying to suppress her smile.

“That’s very nice of you,” Rey said, unable to look her in the eye.

“You don’t believe me,” the blonde stated. She reached over and touched her fingers to Rey’s chin, drawing her sight back to her blue eyes. “What is your name, Sunrise?”

Rey had an answer ready for a question such as this. “Lady Chelli Lona Aphra of Bar’leth.” She bravely turned to face her body towards the woman’s. “And what is yours?”

Rey was too enchanted for the moment to realize the woman’s hesitation was accompanied by a slight twisting in the Force that went unnoticed by Rey.

“Bri.”

“That’s lovely,” Rey said. “Is that Coruscantian?”

“No, I come from a generally unheard of planet in the outer rim. It was harsh living and nothing as exciting as Bar’leth.”

Rey had never been to Bar’leth and really didn’t know that much about it other than it was where some of the best educational institutions were built. Against her better judgment, and in an effort to relate with Bri, she divulged some of her own harsh livings on a little known planet in the outer rim.

“My family is from Bar’leth but I don’t really consider it my home,” Rey said. “I grew up near Eriadu and my father was loyal to the Tarkins to a fault.”

It was a lie, but revealing she was from Jakku would only raise red flags. However, just as she had hoped, Bri immediately understood the reference of Eriadu.

“You were tested on Carrion Plateau? That’s quite a feat! I’m rather impressed!”

When Rey had learned of the Carrion Plateau test, she had rolled her eyes over the simplicity of it. Tarkin had been tested for a month in a jungle full of predatory animals. Rey had been tested her entire life in an inhospitable war-ravaged desert by predatory animals, humans and aliens alike.

“Don’t be,” Rey said, hoping she wasn’t coming across too arrogant. “It wasn’t terribly difficult.”

“Not terribly difficult?” Bri scoffed. “I doubt even Captain Phasma could survive it.”

“I’m going to have to disagree with you there. Captain Phasma could survive the Carrion Plateau and probably the Death Star,” Rey stated.

Bri gave a spurt of a laugh, which seemed oddly unpracticed, as though she didn’t laugh very often. “Which Death Star?”

“Either. Both,” Rey answered, getting caught up in the mood Bri was unintentionally disbursing. The delight Bri emitted cast it’s spell over Rey again. This time being up close meant the pull was stronger.

“You seem to know a lot about the Captain.”

“I wish I knew more,” Rey replied.

“Really? What would you want to know about her?”

Rey thought on it for a second. “I want to know how many hours of sleep she gets a night.”

Bri paused to assess Rey in bewilderment. “Sorry, what?”

“I have learned to be a survivalist,” Rey said. “I like a peaceful sleep out under the stars with the sound of a fire crackling beside me. I cannot for the life of me learn to sleep on board a ship with it’s constant metallic knocking from every section and the whining of the loud ion engines. I’m just curious if Captain Phasma can sleep on a ship.”

Bri’s lips pulled in a wide smile. “It’s rumored she sleeps only about four hours a night, but that’s mostly due to being brought up with that habit. She doesn’t seem keen on sleeping on ships either.”

“Well, _you_ seem to know a lot about the Captain too,” Rey teased. “Are you a fan?”

“Just a casual supporter. What else do you want to know about her?”

“Any rumors about why she chooses a Blastech rapid-fire 21B pistol over the more powerful SE-44C she used to carry?”

“How do you know she switched?” Bri asked in amazement.

“Last year her vids showed her using her specialized 44, but now she’s carrying a 21. I’m just curious why the change.”

“You really do study her vids.”

“Hard to take one’s eyes off a sunset.”

“Last I heard it’s because the stock from the 44 broke in half and she’s carrying the 21 until the customized 44 in chrome is delivered. You know, most people ask about what she looks like.”

“That doesn’t matter to me,” Rey replied. “The thing about Captain Phasma that I think most people fail to realize is just how good she really is with her silverstaff. She’s not only incredibly practiced with it, but it’s like an extension of herself. When she uses a blaster or a baton, she’s using a weapon, but if she’s using her silverstaff, she _is_ the weapon. For most people, it’s like watching a game. For me, I know I’m seeing a great artist work with her best medium. It’s simply awe-inspiring.”

Rey finished her diatribe to find Bri staring at her again. Crimson radiated across Rey’s face both by the embarrassment of revealing how far her admiration goes, and that she still had the full attention of someone so beautiful.

“Oh, god, you must think I’m insane,” Rey said, shaking her head.

“No, not at all,” Bri replied. “I was just thinking how I’m sure the Captain would deeply appreciate what you’ve said.”

“I hope so,” Rey shrugged.

“Perhaps Captain Phasma is here this very moment. You could tell her yourself.”

“I’m sure someone as tall and reflective as she is wouldn’t escape my eye,” Rey laughed. “But if you see her, let her know I’m dying to learn how she does that staff spin over her head.”

“Which one?” Bri asked. “The full spin over the helmet?”

“No, the one that looks like a quarter spin but somehow turns into a full counter.”

“Oh, you’re talking about the slip rotation. It’s meant to fool her opponents, or so I’m told.”

“What don’t you know about the Captain?” Rey asked in surprise. “Do you know her? Are you a soldier?”

“I’ve had an occasion to meet her. As luck would have it, I happen to know how she does that staff spin.” Bri stretched out her right arm to demonstrate. “As I’m sure you’ve guessed, it’s all in the wrist, but you have to rotate it to such a degree before snapping back round.”

Rey stretched out her own arm. “Like this?”

“Almost. You’re not rotating it at the right angle.”

“That looks impossible.”

“It’s not. Try it.”

“Like this?” Rey held an invisible staff and angled her wrist before quickly whipping it to the side. She smacked her hand into the bar, prompting an expletive followed by a quick laugh.

Bri, hiding her own laughter but not her smile, took Rey’s hand in hers and showed her how to angle it. “Don’t rotate it if it’s like this. You’ll break your wrist.” She pulled it straighter. “Like this. And then snap.”

“Like this?” Rey tried again.

“Close. But less whipping and more snapping. Don’t move your arm.” Bri sidled up behind Rey so that her arm was stretched out alongside Rey’s, which resulted in Rey’s back pressed against Bri’s chest. “See how I’m moving my wrist? Like that.”

All of a sudden, Rey was having trouble concentrating and she didn’t think the distraction was entirely from her own mood. A heady tension was coming from Bri as well.

“Like this?” Rey asked through a dry throat.

“Yes,” Bri confirmed. Her voice had thickened as well. “Like that.”

For a few seconds, Rey thought that if she should turn her head she would be face-to-face with Bri and it would only take a slight lean to meet her lips with the blonde’s. Curious by what Bri was thinking, Rey looked behind her and caught the blonde gazing at Rey in a look of confused longing.

They both came to their senses at the same time.

“You learn quick,” Bri said, distancing herself from Rey so that they were no longer touching.

“I can do the move,” Rey replied, clearing her throat and slightly scooting away from Bri. “It’s holding a staff at the same time that’s the problem.”

“Practice is all you need.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Rey felt she had successfully returned to being professional, though this whole encounter was quite odd. Rey had never been enraptured enough by a stranger to seriously think about kissing her. In public. Less than ten minutes after meeting. While on a mission.

Steering the conversation back to safer territory (and telling herself she was gathering more intel on the gala so there was reason to continue talking to Bri), Rey changed the topic.

“What about you? What’s your role in all this?” Rey waved her hand out towards the event.

“I’m the event organizer,” Bri answered. Rey felt a slight tug of the Force, making her arch her brow in skepticism. Bri seemed to have noticed enough to amend her previous statement. “I’m one of the event organizers, I mean.”

“You’ve done a wonderful job here.”

“Thank you, but in actuality my part in this event isn’t really noticeable.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

“No, that’s all right. Usually when I’m tasked with organizing something, it’s entirely on my own and meant to be a huge spectacle. Anything that goes wrong is my fault so it’s nice to do something low-key for once.”

“Do you like your job?”

Bri huffed out in a silent laugh like Rey had reminded her of of an inside joke. “My job certainly has it’s perks. Lots of travel, unlimited budgets, countless people to order around. But it’s all I know, and if I were to ever want to do something different I wouldn’t know what that would be. My boss also considers me ‘essential’ so I’m not sure he’d be happy to just let me go.”

“Can he do that?”

“The First Order does what the First Order wants.”

Rey’s brows shot up in surprise. “You work for the First Order?”

“Yes, of course. This is a First Order fundraiser.”

Rey looked around in confusion. The intelligence officers at the Resistance base had told her the fundraiser was in support of liberating the citizens of an impoverished planet.

“At the sake of sounding ignorant, but what is this fundraiser for?”

“Donations to a new fleet of walkers to be used on Tatooine,” Bri replied. “The Tusken Raiders have been a source of trouble but the First Order has all it’s armored transports occupied in other star systems. The ground troops need better fire power to keep the people in line.”

Rey knew before she arrived at the gala that she’d be walking into a Rancor’s den. She hadn’t known that the den would be filled with First Order Rancor’s that might be able to recognize her from battle footage. Rey was in greater danger than she had realized, and she made a small gasp which she hoped wasn’t loud enough for Bri to have overheard. No such luck.

“What’s wrong?” Bri asked in slight alarm. “Are you all right?”

“Everything’s fine,” Rey replied, glancing back at Bri with what she thought might be a soothing smile. “It’s just I remembered I was supposed to be meeting someone here and I’ve completely blown them off. It was wonderful to meet you but I really must be going.”

Rey had stood up from her barstool and was ready to walk right through the ballroom and out the door when she was stopped by fingers gripped around her wrist. She turned to see Bri holding her.

Bri’s eyes darted over Rey’s face again, narrowing when there might have been some kind of realization. Rey held her breath, hoping she wouldn’t have to fight her way out of the hall.

“Have you misplaced a ruby broach around here?” Bri asked in uncertainty.

Rey’s eyes went wide. “Yes, I think I left it near the east wing bathrooms.”

This time Bri was the one to make a small gasp of surprise. She glanced around, making sure no one was near and then stood up alongside Rey. “Come with me.”

* * *

Rey followed Bri towards the east corridor, for the first time noting just how tall the woman turned out to be. Bri was notably quiet as she guided Rey through the ballroom and then turned down a long hall where no one seemed to be allowed. Making sure there was no one in sight before rounding the corners or slipping through empty rooms, Bri kept Rey close behind her until she opened a door and ushered Rey inside, closing it quickly and quietly behind them.

Rey’s heart jumped in her chest upon her first glimpse of all the white stormtrooper armor placed in open lockers.

“What’s goin-?”

“Shh,” Bri said, placing a finger to Rey’s lips. “Put this on,” she whispered as she held out a black body glove. “Be quick.”

“How come I need to disguise myself? I didn’t hear any alerts from my comm.”

“Call your handler,” Bri told her. “You won’t be able to get through.”

Rey was skeptical. She held her comm up to her mouth and spoke. “Come in, Finn.” There was no answer. “Finn! Come in!”

“The channels are blocked. He can’t hear you,” Bri said. “The event is winding down, and because the Resistance spy has not been discovered stormtroopers will be coming in to search the guests. You must hurry and put on one of the armor sets.”

Bri hadn’t even finished her statement before Rey was already shedding her dress. “How do they even know there is a spy? Do they know you’re the informant?”

Bri went to the other side of the lockers to give Rey some privacy. “I’m not your informant.”

“But you knew the key phrase,” Rey said as she pulled the black body glove on. “How did you know it if you’re not-” Rey’s heart suddenly dropped into her stomach. “The informant is dead.”

“Yes,” Bri answered. “You must hurry.”

“Then who are you? Why were you the one to pose as the informant? Are you an event organizer at all?”

“I’ll tell you everything, but first put your armor on.”

“Did you know I was a Resistance member the whole time we talked?” Rey asked. She was finding it difficult to snap on the white armor, never having done it before. Bri seemed to be doing something else on the other side of the lockers.

“No, of course not. Did you know who I was?”

“I’m not sure what you mean. I’ve never seen you before in my entire life. I would definitely remember. If you were posing as the informant, why did you not ask me the key phrase right away?”

“I wasn’t the only one. In fact, the entire staff are disguised storm troopers waiting to be asked the key phrase. One of which you’ll be escaping in her armor.”

“None of the staff matched the mood I expected to come from an informer. I never approached any of them.”

“That at least explains how you avoided them. Everyone was put on alert. We didn’t know who to expect. Certainly not a Jedi who could sense moods.”

“Why are you helping me?” Rey asked.

“I never intended to up until ten minutes ago. I didn’t recognize you in your dress. Your hair is different. You have make up on. I’ve never seen you up close, not even on your holo-vids. You look entirely different.”

“What does that matter?” Rey snapped on her last piece of plastoid and stood up.

“I think you would be surprised by what I have to tell you.”

“What’s that?” Rey asked.

Bri came back around the lockers. She was no longer in her blue dress, rather now decked entirely in chrome armor complete with black cape. She held a chrome helmet to her side.

“You have an admirer.”

Rey was too stunned to speak. When she finally did, it was in a hushed stutter.

“That-That’s Captain Phasma’s armor,” Rey said, weakly pointing to it. “But that would mean that she’s here…at this gala.”

Bri stepped forward far enough to place Rey in her shadow.

“Indeed, she is.”

“How could this be?” Rey replied, shaking her head in confusion. “You said you didn’t know who I was. Was it coincidence that I was talking to you the whole time? To Captain Phasma?”

“Perhaps sometimes lives are meant to be intertwined. Had you been caught earlier, had you not stopped to watch my holo-vid, had we not struck up a conversation, you would not be leaving this palace alive.”

“But why are you letting me go?”

“I have heard that there are no such things as coincidences.”

“I don’t understand. Is this some kind of trick?”

“You can sense lies, can you not?”

“Apparently not. I didn’t sense the one about your name.”

“It was a small enough lie to perhaps go unnoticed. BRI-3 is my former codename. However, you can sense my thoughts. Sense it now. Am I lying to you when I say that I will help you escape?”

Rey furrowed her brows and felt the truth from Phasma’s mind.

“No, you’re not lying.”

“And am I lying when I say that I admire your techniques? Or that you would be a formidable opponent?”

Rey reached further into her thoughts. “No, that is the truth.”

“I give you permission to look again,” Phasma urged, her voice had gone grave. “I don’t quite know how to explain myself.”

Rey stepped forward, still focused on Bri’s, or rather the Captain’s eyes. She reached up to place her hands along the Captain’s face, gently sifted the Force into her mind, and began to search.

She found glimpses of Phasma’s life, the ones Phasma wanted her to see, as a warrior with no equal. Her entire life striving to be at the top, reaching it and finding her heart wrenched, for in her quest to be the greatest she had shunned everyone who might have cared for her. And now there were no more challenges to face and no one to share her many victories. There was no one who could understand the life long struggle of being a survivor, and the pain of discipline to be the best.

Rey was having difficulty retrieving Phasma’s newest thoughts. Phasma was not used to emotional vulnerability and the rest of her thoughts were not so easily shared. Rey pulled Phasma closer till the Captain’s forehead touched hers.

Flashes of a meeting with General Hux, tasking the Captain with setting up a sting for a possible Resistance spy. Phasma reluctantly attended the gala expecting nothing more than to capture a low-ranking Resistance member, and to put her best looking soldiers to poor use. She wasn’t even supposed to be on the floor, but the guests were treating her disguised soldiers inappropriately, which she put a stop to by donning her own disguise and personally throwing out the offending guests. Phasma rarely drank, but that night she sat at the bar with a strong liquor and tapped through the security feed on her datapad looking for suspects at the gala. Then the young woman beside her took notice of the Captain Phasma footage on the propaganda channel...

The thoughts were stronger, but Rey still couldn’t get to the private ones Phasma was trying to share. She tilted her head forwards and met her lips to the Captain’s.

Images of the Captain studying Rey’s holo-vids, staying awake at night because she was unable to sleep due to constant sounds from within a star destroyer. The Captain noted every new technique the Jedi displayed in increasing admiration. Her desire to face such a formidable opponent as the Jedi went unspoken because there was no one in her life who could possibly understand.

Rey deepened the kiss, in return looking further into the Captain’s thoughts. The Captain indulged, allowing Rey to strengthen their connection.

Phasma’s thoughts flashed on the young woman at the bar, who was someone unlike anyone the Captain had ever met. Beautiful, clever, interesting, mysterious. Phasma was not one to engage in conversation so lightly and she feared it was only the woman’s high praise that was drawing her in, but as they continued to converse, Phasma felt herself falling further into enchantment. So rarely did Phasma feel a kinship to another that it immediately triggered a response of attraction.

There was no need to escalate her kiss with the Captain, but Rey did so out of building desire.

And then one of Phasma’s thoughts came to her in clarity, as if it was happening at that moment. The Captain’s realization that the Jedi and the woman at the bar were one and the same. Someone who could challenge the Captain, who allured her, who could understand her…Everything Phasma wanted was within this one person. Within Rey.

Rey felt the beam of exhilaration overwhelm her like the first flash of sunlight on her body. It was like finding out the sunset admired her in return.

Rey didn’t want to leave Phasma feeling one-sided. She offered her own thoughts to Phasma, slipping in her own memories and laying bare her own vulnerabilities. Images of studying the Captain’s battle footage. Lying awake on sleepless nights and wishing to see the Captain up close and personal. Being instantly attracted to the blonde woman who had captured her attention so effortlessly. She showed to Phasma the respect she held for her, and the desire to know her, and the longing to see her again. Rey showed to Phasma that everything she had ever wanted was everything the Captain turned out to be.

The Captain, grateful for the exchanged thoughts, intensified the kiss in reciprocity. Rey let herself drift completely into the kiss, no longer aware of anything beyond it.

A hard knock on the door made them both jump and then lean away from each other.

“What is it?” Phasma shouted.

“Captain!” came the call from the other side. “We’re ready to search for the spy.”

“Fine. Commence with the orders. I’m on my way.”

They could hear the soldier run back down the corridor. Rey would have done anything to get back to the point they had been a few seconds ago, but instead stood silently resenting the broken moment..

Phasma looked to Rey and swallowed hard. “I’ll assign you to the east exit. You can slip away as soon as you’re able.”

Phasma began to lift her helmet up and in a second her face would be covered. Rey stopped her with a quick hand to Phasma’s forearm.

“When I see you again,” Rey said, causing the Captain to pause with helmet raised in the air, “just know I will be giving you everything I have within me. Every bit of my strength, every emotion I have, every ounce of power I can draw from the Force will all be used against you.”

The Captain smiled, covering it with her helmet as she placed it on her head. Before Rey stood the indomitable Captain Phasma, more impressive in person than Rey had ever imagined.

“And I will respectfully give the same to you. We shall meet in battle someday.” The Captain gave Rey a nod before turning to leave. The Jedi watched her go, already waiting for the day their paths would cross again.

Before slipping out the door, the Captain paused, turning to give Rey one more last thought.

“I have never believed in destiny until now.”

* * *

No one saw Rey walk away from the palace and discard her armor in the underbrush outside the gates. She snuck towards the port and onto the _Millenium Falcon_ where Finn jumped up in happiness by her appearance.

“You’re alive!” he declared with a hug. “I couldn’t get through to you! The First Order channel cut out and then my signal was jammed so I thought you had been captured! Are-? Are you wearing a body glove?”

“I noticed I couldn’t get through to you anymore, so I snuck out in stormtrooper armor,” Rey said. “Good thing I did because the First Order searched the guests after that.” She closed the plank to the Falcon and Finn followed her to the cockpit.

“Did you find the informant?” Finn asked.

“No, I suspect he or she is dead.”

“Why do you think that?”

“I just have a hunch.”

“Did anything else happen at the Fundraiser?”

“No, it was actually uneventful.”

“You didn’t overhear anything or get any leads to-?”

“Please, Finn,” Rey said as she sat the controls. “Let’s just get out of here.”

Finn buckled up and Rey lifted off into the sky. The planet was far enough behind them for Rey to jump into hyperspace and then they were long gone.

Finn kept wanting to talk about the mission, but once he realized Rey wasn’t listening to him he went to go call General Organa and give an update. He left her in the cockpit with her feet propped up on the control panel and a far away look in her eye.

What should have been felt as a dead end to the mission, Rey had a sense of a beginning. There was nothing that could take the Captain out of her thoughts. She reflected on everything she admired about Phasma. The nobleness and honor, the respect and courage, the intelligence and beauty of the Captain. From the moment she saw the blonde, to the last sentence spoken in the locker room, the entire events of the night replayed over and over again in her mind.

_I have never believed in destiny until now._

“I never did either,” Rey said aloud, smiling on the memory of the kiss. “Until now.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to all who read this!
> 
> I would appreciate any thoughts from anyone who wouldn't mind sharing them. Do you have a preference to either version?


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